A giant rubber duck mysteriously appeared in a Maine harbor with a message: 'Joy'

BELFAST, Maine – The appearance of a giant rubber duck in a Maine harbor is a whimsical whodunit that has defied sleuths.

The yellow waterfowl emblazoned with the word “joy” appeared in Belfast Harbor over the weekend, and it’s a mystery who put it there.

Harbor Master Katherine Given told the Bangor Daily News that the 25-foot-tall duck doesn’t pose a navigational hazard, so there’s no rush to shoo it away. She said she heard rumors the duck floated from the town of Islesboro, south of Belfast.

“Everybody loves it,” Given said. “I have no idea who owns it, but it kind of fits Belfast. A lot of people want to keep it here.”

The duck has been a star on social media.

Judy Herman of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, stopped to snap photos on Tuesday.

“It’s wonderful,” she told New England Cable News. “Who would expect to see a duck in the middle of the water here?”

Contributing: Jordan Mendoza